Should ‘freedoms’ given to citizens be ‘restricted’ too?

-- Isaam Thalhath, VIII-D, ICSK(Amman)

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

“If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
? George Washington

Freedom is to be who you want to be, do what you want to do, to live without judgement, to live in a free country. Freedom means creativity without borders, the flexibility to choose your future, follow your heart and the ability to express yourself in the world without any constraints. Freedom means no boundaries, to exist like the wind, like the air we breathe. Freedom is will; Freedom is peace. Everyone defines freedom in their own way. As they should. That’s the whole point of being free in the first place. According to Aristotle, the “democratic” freedom of ancient Greek democracy has two marks, one personal and one political: (i) to live as one wishes and (ii) to rule and be ruled in turn.

Our modern-day democratic freedom isn't really that different from Aristotle's

The Right to Freedom in the Indian constitution guarantees to the citizens of India six Fundamental Freedoms:
1) Freedom of Speech and Expression
2) Freedom of Assembly
3) Freedom to form associations
4) Freedom of Movement
5) Freedom to reside and to settle
6) Freedom of profession, occupation, trade, or business

One of the founding principles of the Indian constitution are the fundamental rights, even though simple the concept of freedom is in reality there are complex lines that can be drawn around what kinds of freedoms are protected in what settings

Free speech is strongly linked to prosperity. After all, prosperity comes from ideas, and new ideas can survive and exist only in a society in which they are free from suppression. It’s easy to think of supported ideas that were once controversial—for example, the idea that all children, regardless of race, should have the same educational opportunities. Thanks to our tradition of free speech, such great ideas reshaped our society for the better. Freedom of speech is important for a free society—and it’s worth fighting to protect.

Today it is very important to protect our freedom of speech. Too many people have come to believe that discussion and debate are insufficient, government regulations are censoring speech that is “disparaging,” “immoral,” and “offensive.”

In today’s culture, people attack the speaker rather than debating or correcting their ideas. Opponents attack speakers as “misogynists,” or “racists,” and then attempt to drive them from the society, or deprive them of their livelihood. In worst-case scenarios, disagreeable speech is dealt with violence. These attacks on the concept of free speech are damaging to a free society and suppress important debate.

Every citizen deserves their freedoms, and it must not be limited by anything cause after all its freedom that defines democracy, Freedom is one of the founding pillars of our government's democracy and restricting that is morally wrong and restricts the development of the society as a whole, we must encourage free rights, encourage the right to speak, encourage the right to assemble. Being restricted of freedom almost same as being kept in a prison cell.

Isaam Thalhath, VIII-D, ICSK(Amman)